Jordan MinorNet Nanny (for Android)Net Nanny for Android delivers the impressive parental control power of Net Nanny 7 on your child's Android device. Only the lack of a few features keeps it from winning an Editors' Choice.

Net Nanny for Android delivers the impressive parental control power of Net Nanny 7 on your child's Android device. Only the lack of a few features keeps it from winning an Editors' Choice.

The kids are alright, and if you're a parent who wants to keep them that way, it's a good idea to monitor the content they consume online. It also pays to know which devices they are using to view that content, and anyone with eyes can tell most kids today do the majority of their Web browsing on a mobile phone. Fortunately, ContentWatch offers a version of its Net Nanny parental control tool specifically for Android devices. It feels a bit more like a tentacle of the impressive main service than a full Android app in its own right, but Net Nanny for Android delivers powerful parental protection to your child's Android phone or tablet. There is an iOS version, but it's limited and not that comprable to its Android counterpart.

Baby StepsFor $59.99 per year you can purchase a Net Nanny subscription that will cover up to five devices, from desktops to mobile phones. If that's not enough, $79.99 gets you ten licenses plus a year of Net Nanny Social, the company's social-media monitoring service. However, the Android version is also available as a standalone product for $12.99 per year, an offer most rivals can't claim. There's also a generous, two-week free trial.

We loaded up the Android edition on a Moto X for a look at how it works. If you're already familiar with the full Net Nanny 7, getting started is simple; just install and launch the app and then log in to Net Nanny's online dashboard. Installation requires a few steps, as the app requires deep-level permissions. Once you identify which user owns the device, Net Nanny loads the appropriate settings and goes to work.

If this is your first time with the service, however, expect to do a little more setup. Create a profile for your child and Net Nanny automatically configures censorship settings based on their age range. The service monitors and reports on users' activity regardless of which device they use. If you create an Internet schedule to designate when your child can be online, the schedule you've defined applies to Android devices, too. And if you've imposed an Internet time allowance, time spent on any device chips away at that allowance. Your child can't just switch to the PC after running out of time on Android.

All browsing must go through the Net Nanny browser—that's how it manages to control and monitor access. In order to retain this control, Net Nanny blocks the use of all other apps that make browser-related calls to the Android OS. It definitely gets the major browsers, and it should catch the oddballs, too. The Net Nanny browser fortunately doesn't feel underpowered or unsecure compared to Chrome. It even maintains the desktop edition's ability to mask profanity, as opposed to blocking the entire page. Most importantly, however, parents of Android owners can take advantage of Net Nanny's Web-filtering options, which are the most powerful and granular we've seen. Most apps are satisfied with just blocking obvious harmful material like pornography or violence; only Net Nanny has an option for specifically keeping our children safe from the single greatest plague of our age: anime.

What's New On Android?Net Nanny on Android leverages most of the features that make the full service so fantastic, but it also has some unique mobile functionality. Once you've installed it on one Android device, you see a new tab for each user in the online console, with the title Applications. This tab lists the applications found on the Android device and lets you block specific apps. You can also block access to the Google Play store, or subsets of the store, and prevent your children from changing the settings, too. Cautious parents can turn on the option to block all new applications pending parental approval. it would be nice if Net Nanny actively blocked apps based on their content ratings, too.

While app management is very useful, we expected a few more Android-specific features from Net Nanny. Android parental control Editors' Choice Norton Family Parental Control and Android app Qustodio Parental Control 2015 both allow parents to block and monitor calls and text messages, as well as tracking a child's location. Communicating with strangers is a huge source of potential danger, especially on mobile phones. The separate Net Nanny Social service can track social media accounts, but calls and texts are still left vulnerable, even with that service.

Another aspect that weakens Net Nanny's Android app as a standalone product is its reliance on the Web version. The app is really just the safe browser to keep kids away from banned websites. If you try to use parental online dashboard from a mobile phone, you're redirected to Net Nanny's Web interface. The interface is robust and filled with all sorts of reports and monitoring tools, but navigating it on a phone isn't ideal. Qustodio and Mobicip have the same problem, although Mobicip does have a limited parental control app optimized for mobile devices. Based on our current testing, only Norton's parental control app provides all the power you want tailored exclusively for your phone. But while there are some deficits for those using Net Nanny as a standalone Android app, it's powerful when combined with the main service on a desktop Web browser, and that's how many parents are probably going to use it.

A Spoonful of Net Nanny Helps the Internet Go DownFor more details on Net Nanny's bevy of features check out our full review of Net Nanny 7. Many of those same features are still impressive on Android, as are the new ones, such as app management and single-device subscriptions. But when judging these apps solely on their ability to keep children secure on Android, Norton Family Parental Control is our Editors' Choice.

Net Nanny (for Android)

Bottom Line: Net Nanny for Android delivers the impressive parental control power of Net Nanny 7 on your child's Android device. Only the lack of a few features keeps it from winning an Editors' Choice.

Former PCMag intern Jordan Minor is a senior editor at sister site, Geek.com, and really just wants to use his fancy Northwestern University journalism degree to write about video games. He's previously written for Kotaku, The A.V. Club, Cards Against Humanity, and 148Apps. In his spare time, he also writes dumb screenplays that occasionally become dumb movies. Follow Jordan on Twitter at @JordanWMinor.
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Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted by readers. By 1990, he had become PC Magazine's technical editor, and a coast-to-coast telecommuter. His "User to User" column supplied readers with tips...
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